Prehistory
by Candiangirl534
Summary: This is a story of how Natsu try's to cope with the memories of what happened before Igneel took him in. How will Natsu deal with his childhood memories laid out for everyone to see, and how will this affect how the other guild members treat him? Slight NaLu
1. Chapter 1

Okay cool new fafic. In this one I hope I get all my fact right and if I don't, well whatever. Its fanfiction, I'll do what I want. It said on fairytail wikia that Igneel met Natsu as a child in a forest (I looked everywhere in the manga and couldn't find it. But the process was fun). I'm only going to assume that the child is pretty much the same age of the little Natsu in the pictures of them together. So yadda yadda ONTO THE FANFICTION!

oh, and the way i picture this story, there might be a little child abuse.

* * *

It was barely six o'clock in the morning when Lucy heard Natsu's whimpers. They were quiet at first, just soft groans like he didn't want to be awake at this hour (Lucy certainly didn't). Then they grew a bit more adding a high pitched sound to the groans, like how a dog whines in his sleep. Lucy turned over in her bed to get a better view, ignoring the fact that Natsu had once again barged into her room at night. In the sparse light she had, Lucy could see his face, warped into a picture of pain and his body slowly curling up into a fetal position. Her face was that of concern as she unconsciously started to move towards his sleeping figure.

Natsu was breathing rather harshly and was now curling his hands into fists. Lucy was shuffling forward now rather awkward. If this was a nightmare, she'd rather not intrude. She knew if she had a nightmare in front of someone she'd be embarrassed. Lucy then saw little blue pieces of fur start to get caught in the slowly fisting hand, and desperately tried to save poor Happy's tail from getting disfigured by Natsu muscly fingers. Too late. A screeching mewl erupted and Lucy dove for the blue fluff. Happy was comically crying and clutching his tail when Lucy took him by the scruff of the neck and hurtled both of their bodies into the bathroom, so as not to wake Natsu.

"Lucy is mean!" Happy practically screamed.

"Yes, yes. Just shush and we'll take a look at that tail." She replied, pulling out her first aid kit. The tail was much more hurt than Happy had let on and the process of bandaging and applying a special magic ointment that took the sting away, was twice as long. Lucy breathed a sigh as fatigue as the sleepless night was creeping up on her.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Happy asked, pulling at her pant leg.

Lucy glanced down at the cute sight and smiled, putting on a motherly tone she patted his head. "Of course I am."

Picking Happy up and cradling him like one would a teddy bear, she set off towards the bed. Tip toeing over familiar creaks in her room she eventually made it to the bed. Kneeling down beside it, as if Natsu were a patient in a hospital, both Happy and Lucy inspected Natsu's face. It was changing into a look of deep sorrow now and Lucy kept vigil watch, debating whether or not she should wake him. Lost in those thoughts she almost screamed when Natsu bolted off the mattress.

"Igneel!" he screamed, with a hand reaching forward.

The debate on whether to get caught peeping on his facial expression or not lasted a millisecond as she grabbed Happy as quietly as she could and rolled under the bed. Actually a little bit curious into Natsu's life before Fairytail, Lucy covered Happy's mouth from screaming and listened intently, hoping for more comprehensible words from his dreams. Silence greeted her after his outburst and she started to toy with the thought that his nightmare had ended when a bright greeting snapped her out of it.

"Hi!" Natsu said as his head leaned over the side of the bed, hair touching the ground. Lucy shrieked and jumped. Bad idea. Her head connected harshly to the beds framed and vibration were sent through the rest of her skull.

"Lucy! You okay?" Natsu hollered as he dropped his whole body to the ground to reach and grab her arm.

As he started pulling her out from underneath, Lucy rubbed her new found bump. "How did you know I was under there?" she questioned, rather annoyed at the possibility her ninja skills were not as awesome as she had presumed.

His face was concerned, and slightly amused as he led her to the bathroom. Rather cheekily, he tapped his nose.

"Stupid Dragon slayers and their noses…" Lucy mumbled as the first aid kit was pulled out for a second time that morning.

* * *

When the trio entered the guild and took a place at the bar, they were immediately questioned by a rather forceful Erza.

"What is this?" Erza asked rather stiffly, pronouncing the "H" in the "what". She motioned to Lucy wound as she spoke.

Natsu chuckled at the memory as Mirajane brought them all a plate of eggs.

Lucy blushed, annoyed. "It wasn't my fault!"

"You were the one under the bed..." Natsu cackled. "Why were you under the bed?"

Shame and embarrassment flooded Lucy and she looked away. Her guilty face replied "Lost a sock."

Erza's eyes raised at the conversation. They sounded like newly weds the way they were talking. Erza blushed at the thought, like she always did when it concerned love. Content with the light atmosphere Erza felt herself calm, as she had been forming an absurd hypothesis in her head. Noticing another set of bandages she turned her head towards Happy.

"And what about you? Did you lose a sock too?" she questioned, hands on her hips.

Happy jumped up gleefully that someone had noticed his own injury. "No. It was Natsu!" Happy proclaimed, putting on the fake expression of anger.

Erza reacted by that statement by summoning a sword and pointing it at Natsu while he started choking on his eggs at such a thought.

"Is it true it was you who hurt my feline friend?" she said, raising the weapon in his direction. Happy wasn't really upset but Erza's reaction made him feel very loved and excited for the imminent duel.

Natsu was still trying to get the eggs down from the shock of being accused, and couldn't speak.

"I take your silence as affirmation. Prepare yourself." she stated and started her advance.

Natsu had just gotten the food down his throat when he saw the edge of the blade. Quickly he darted out of the path of the professional swing and established a defensive position from reflex. Erza recuperated fast and attacked again. Everyone in the guildhall was now watching the brawl of the dazed dragon slayer and majestic titania.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Natsu questioned, once the blade had momentarily paused to readjust itself for a more skillful approach.

"Repeating myself is not something I like doing Natsu. You injured Happy, prepare to be punished." Erza proclaimed as she took another strike.

Everyone steeled themselves for Erza's usual win, a smirk plastered on their faces. Those expressions quickly changed however, to ones of shock.

There had been an unfamiliar glint in Natsu's eyes as he skillfully, almost wildly, dodged the attack and grabbed Erza's wrist with a fire coated hand. He pushed his face into hers, eyes full of what could only be seen as hate.

Using an aggressive tone normally reserved for enemies he spoke. "Don't you _ever _say that again."

Though angry, his voice was rather calm. Eerily calm.

Erza leaped backwards after his words, totally serious now. She had left her guard down, certain that the battle would be won with the last blow. She faced him now with a different sense of who she was fighting. She was serious. Erza serious was not something normal humans could see without death approaching and some people started to shake.

Seeing the awesome sight, Natsu seemed to snap out of his reverie and paused to assess the situation. Realising what he had done his face flushed and became abashed. Shame flooded his face, chasing away all other expressions. He glanced around at all the guild members gaping mouths and decided he didn't like the situation. Very carefully he retreated from Erza's threatening figure and whispered something along the lines of "can't take a joke..." and left the guildhall.

Erza's tense air turned to one of puzzlement as she exquiped her sword.

She turned to see Lucy's concerned face eying the door Natsu had just left, and exactly a second later she went after him, followed by a extremely guilty looking blue cat.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't like how stiff my writing felt in the first chapter so I tried harder in this one. Hope it's better. Igneel does not abuse Natsu nor will he ever in anything i write. Igneel is just too awesome to do that in my books. Oh, and i didn't do this last chapter but... um... REVIEW

* * *

Natsu had run far away from fairytail in a daze. No one had in fairytail had ever challenged Erza like he just did and Natsu really didn't want the repercussions that would follow. Everyone would ask why he had just snapped and in really, he wanted to know that himself. What was wrong with him enough to threaten Erza like that?

He didn't have long to ponder this question though because Lucy had cut him off by using Happy's speed.

"Natsu! Are you okay?" she called as she went up to him. Her eyes quickly gave him a once over and then landed on his pained face. "What happened back there?"

Recovering slightly Natsu shrugged his shoulders as he tried to create a lighter atmosphere. "I don't know. Maybe I was bitten by a weird bug."

After saying that he comically started to inspect his body, turning around like a dog trying to catch his tail. Lucy caught on right away and gave him a pitying look.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just a cold or something." Lucy said.

"Yeah, guess I'll take a nap then." He replied shamefully and began to walk away.

"Natsu…" Happy started to reach out for him then was stopped by Lucy.

"Let's go and explain to the guild Natsu's sick, alright?" She suggested.

So together Lucy and Happy both returned to the guild with fake smiles and reassured everyone that Natsu was going to be fine.

* * *

Natsu kicked a rock grudgingly across the open terrain just outside of his and Happy's house. Taking a large intake of air, he sighed. Deciding that he was tired he fell back on the dirt and rolled around, trying to get comfortable. He still couldn't understand what the hell had happened to him back there. Why the hell was this ground so hard? Why was he getting pissed off?

With a growl he got up and quickly ran the familiar path to Lucy's place. Quickly breaking in he slid under the covers and felt his tension leave him. It smelled like Lucy. Finding the scent intoxicating, he quickly slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Natsu dreamed of a white world. Everywhere he looked was bright light. Snow. Snow covered every inch of land and coated every tree. Natsu recognized this place. He didn't know how but he did. The world seemed bigger than he was used to. The sun dipped behind the horizon as a breeze ruffled his pink locks and sent a shiver down his spine. _Fire dragon slayers shouldn't get cold_, he thought and looked down at his trembling body.

"Natsu…" said a voice as cold and bitter as the winter wind. "Come"

Feeling vulnerable, Natsu pulled his arms across his chest and turned to face the voice. The source of the noise was a figure drenched in shadows. It had the body type of a woman and the demeanor of someone strong and cruel. He felt like he should run but his body started towards the woman. With every step his trembling increased, until finally he couldn't walk anymore and collapsed right at the figures feet. Glancing up, the last thing he saw was a muscular looking hand coming over his face.

* * *

Natsu woke up covered in sweat. The entire bed for that manner was soaked in Natsu's sweat, completely erasing Lucy's scent. It was dark outside when Natsu finally worked himself out of the wet sheets and glanced around the room. Without Lucy's scent the bed was useless. After a minute to calm down, Natsu glanced at the clock. From the moonlight he could see it was three o'clock at night. Slightly worried, Natsu sniffed the air. Sure enough Lucy was here. Making a small flame in his hand he started towards the strongest scent of Lucy, seeing as how her scent was everywhere.

Lucy was curled into a ball on the small couch. Without a blanket she trembled in her sleep and restlessly flipped back and forth on the couch. Her scent was calming him once again as he took the blanket that was draped over the desk chair and covered her body with it. The affect was immediate as she relaxed into the couch.

"Natsu…" she whispered. Worried she'd woken up because of him he bent down to inspect her face. It was totally relaxed and her breathing even. Finding this as the perfect chance for not only revenge for yesterday, but also to find out more about how Lucy thought of him he waited.

Barely a second later he got his answer. "Idiot…"

Slightly annoyed at the name, but never the less cheered that she had been dreaming about him, he made his way to the bath. Knowing she hated it when he took a bath at her apartment he felt it punishment enough for her dream and he just wanted all the sticky sweat off him. Content he drifted after the bath and crawled next to Lucy on the couch. Her scent once again lulled him into sleep and he went unconscious with the thought, _everything is going to be okay._ His sleep was dreamless.

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter. Half of the thing got erased and I had to start over. REVIEW


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, third chapter. This is more of a set up chapter for the one after it as I'm sure you'll be able to tell. REVIEW. Thanks.

* * *

That morning, after a few arguments about using Lucy's shower and why the hell they were sleeping together on the couch, the duo made their way to Fairytail. It turns out Happy had slept over with Wendy and Carla (That lucky dog…cat) so the walk to their guild had no mentions of fish. Natsu had decided to take a job today, partly because he didn't really want to spend the day with awkward glances from everyone and also because he needed to get his mind of the odd nightmares he'd been having. So, when he entered the guildhall he went straight for the missions board. Lucy followed.

"Pick one with a lot of jewels, 'kay?" Lucy asked from behind him. Natsu had actually planned to go alone, but with Lucy nothing had been awkward so he simply nodded affirmation, deciding it would be fine if Lucy came along.

His fingers were skimming some of the smaller mission such as catching bandits when Happy's voice chimed in. "Can you pick one were we get to eat a lot of fish?"

Natsu turned to face his exceed friend and replied "Yeah…"

_It would probably feel weird without Happy_, Natsu thought. So he slid his hands over to a poster with a big restaurant sign on the front and inspected it.

"Oh, and be sure to include Wendy and Carla, 'kay?" Happy continued, happily chewing on his morning fish.

Slightly annoyed, Natsu didn't answer. He knew he owed Happy after yesterday but he really wanted to go alone. Resigning himself he allowed it. _Besides, _he thought, _Wendy and Carla aren't very judgemental._

"Ah, Natsu." A familiarly scary voice said. "Going on a mission? It's a good healing method. I'll tag along." Erza finished, placing her hand on his shoulder and looking off into the distance.

Natsu sighed as he added another person to the brigade. His hand once again went to something different. His hand rested on the highest paying one and tore it off. With Erza nothing was impossible, and he was _really_ itching to hit something.

"Oi! Flamebrain! I already called dibs on that one!" Gray called out from across the guild. He was silenced by Gajeel who hit him upside the head and screamed, "Like hell, idiot. I had that one first!"

"Then I guess you'll all just have to go together." Mirajane concluded, piping up after serving breakfast to Macao.

A small pout formed on Natsu's face as all eight of them decided to meet up at the train station later, without consulting the person who took the job in the first place. Natsu sighed. It will be a long mission…

* * *

At noon the crew of mages all piled into the train headed for Roscrea, a bustling city with an influential company running the entire show. Each fairytail member read the flier as it was passed around. Wendy had cast troia on Natsu so he could read the flier properly. All guild mates reached the clients house only to find he was busy, leaving his maid to explain everything.

Apparently the mission was to investigate and stop any animal testing of the magic supplies company called Belmont. They specialized in creating magical tools that caters to everyday folks needs. The company's director himself had sent the mission flier, wanting any wrong doings out of his business. The reason he hired mages is because every time he confronts research and development they threaten him with a coup and destruction. Security isn't as well funded as research, plus every person who works there is a mage and strong ones at that to be able to create magical tools.

Everything about this unnerved Natsu. He felt nauseous when he thought of poor little Happy being tested on. Feeling this one should be a quick job he said while holding his muscles, "Just tell us who they are, we'll set 'em straight."

Of course he was hit immediately after saying this by Erza for not using his head.

The group was soon shown to their rooms and left alone.

"Is it just me or is this place really creepy…" Lucy said as she looked around.

She wasn't lying about that. The entire place was gothic themed and the maid had a distant look in her eyes as she was explaining the situation. The entire place screamed pain and Lucy wouldn't have been surprised if the room next to theirs was a prison.

"Oi.. Natsu…" Lucy said as she tugged on his arm. Natsu had the eerily calm expression he had had on yesterday when he'd fought Erza. "What's wrong..?"

Natsu shook himself and grinned in reassurance at Lucy. She raised her eyebrow but didn't say anymore after that.

The journey to Roscrea had taken almost the whole day and after a quick dinner served inside their rooms, they all went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay so I wrote this hoping to gather my thoughts for this story, and I think I finally did.

* * *

It was early morning and the gang had barely opened their eyes when they heard them.

"What should we do about him?" one timid female voice asked.

Another female voice answered in a gruff tone usually reserved for men and Erza. "Nothing. If we just keep quiet then nothing should go wrong. Trust in me. I'll deal with it."

The voices died as they receded down the hallway.

"Yay, we can definitely get paid with that!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping he hands together cheerfully.

All guildmates glanced at each other, finally settling on Erza as she took the leader role. She sighed and crossed her arms. She narrowed her eyes as she assessed the situation.

"Okay, Lucy, Natsu and Happy, search openly throughout the staff. Ask questions and if you find who the voices belong to, bring them back here. Charla, Wendy and Gajeel, go get all the records of purchases, staff members and anything else you can get your hands on. Gray and I will scope this building by going undercover."

Natsu chimed in then, "Breakfast?" he asked.

The glare Erza sent was enough to silence a newborn puppy. With that they all went their separate ways, much to the dismay of Natsu's stomach.

* * *

The staircase down was pure grey stone and the dim lighting added to the ominous atmosphere. Happy was clutching Natsu's shoulder as they made their way down. Lucy was put at ease as she spoke to a guide that the client had supplied. Natsu could already feel his gut clenching with the situation. Who tests products in such dim lighting? He got his answer when they entered the testing area.

White light seemed to circle the room and they could only make images after the adjustment of their eyes. The room was one open space with a multitude of dividers. Every employee seemed to have their own space which was distributed by necessity, having people who change colours of clothing a smaller space than the people who make magical instruments for creating art made out of plants. Each employee wore a blue lab coat over tacky blouses normally worn by nurses.

The scene was the general consensus of what they expected, however the people were not. Each of them had an obsessive need to perfect whatever they were creating, blocking things from view for fear of judgement from the outsiders.

"Why are they so uptight? Lucy asked the guide, slightly miffed.

She grinned sadly. "We don't usually produce all of the products and the competition is tough. Only the ones who perfect their product get the big dough, and "perfect" here is being better than the competition."

Lucy nodded understandingly and the group felt themselves huddling together as they traversed the maze of experiments. The unease on Lucy, Happy and Natsu's face was as clear as day and it only grew as they came to a giant chunk of metal that was a door.

"And here," the guide said pleasantly, "is the most successful developer we have. Her success rate is so high she got her own room!"

The guide cheerfully knocked a few times on the door and waited until it creaked open.

"Follow me!" she practically screamed. It seemed the guide had an icon of sorts.

Inside the room was almost covered in a tasteful red with flowered wallpaper. A desk sat at the middle of the room towering over the entrance. Around the room were mahogany storage units. There was a corner which the floor had been raised and was surrounded by clear glass walls.

"My lady." Said the guide, curtseying.

A black leather chair sat behind the desk and its occupant away from the door.

"What have you come to bother me with now, Gertrude?" a cold voice answered.

It appeared Gertrude's spirit were lifted with what the woman said and she replied confidently, "We have guest's"

The woman's chair swiveled around to meet the new arrivals and all fairytail members stopped, astonished.

_Pink hair_


End file.
